Healthy sugar alternatives for guilt-free desserts

Healthy sugar alternatives for guilt-free desserts

If you're concerned about your health, you probably know that sugar might be the worst thing you can eat. But if you have a sweet tooth, it can be hard to pass up these comforting desserts. Luckily, there are some healthy sugar alternatives you can use to make your own guilt-free desserts that will actually help your health instead of harming it.

Brown rice syrup

Brown rice syrup is made by culturing white rice with enzymes. It is not made from brown rice as the name suggests, the name actually refers to the color of the syrup, which is obviously brown. By combining enzymes with rice, the starch is broken down and the resulting liquid is cooked, creating a syrup that is about half as sweet as sugar.

To use it in baking, you'll want to substitute 1 1/3 cups of brown rice syrup for every cup of sugar and reduce the other liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup and then add a quarter teaspoon of baking powder to the ingredients of the recipe.

Honey

Honey is one of the healthy sugar alternatives that everyone should consider as a substitute in baking. Honey, especially raw honey, is extremely healthy and rich in antioxidants, antiviral and antibacterial properties. It contains a variety of vitamins and minerals that help your health, unlike white table sugar which contains no nutrients, vitamins or minerals.

To use it in your baking, replace the white sugar with equal amounts of honey. You also need to reduce the liquids in the recipe so that the dough has the right consistency, as honey contains more liquid than sugar.

maple syrup

If you're looking for healthy sugar alternatives that will add a unique flavor to your baking, look no further than maple syrup. Made from the sap of maple trees, this thick syrup can add an interesting flavor to any recipe. However, be careful when purchasing it because you want to be sure that you are purchasing pure maple syrup, otherwise you will just be purchasing flavored corn syrup with no nutritional value. Pure maple syrup is rich in nutrients and is actually three times sweeter than table sugar.

To use maple syrup in baking, replace each cup of sugar with 3/4 cup maple syrup and reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 3 tablespoons.

There are two reasons why you should consider a healthy alternative to sugar when baking. The first is that when table sugar is made, all nutrients are removed from it. They are just empty calories that are not good for your body. The second reason is that table sugar has a very high glycemic index and therefore causes a rise in your blood sugar, which is detrimental to your health and eventually also leads to a drop in your blood sugar, causing mood swings, fatigue and cravings.

Look for healthy sugar alternatives with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, as well as those with a low glycemic index like brown rice syrup (with a GI of 25), so you can bake nutritious desserts that are good for your health and that don't lead to a sugar high and subsequent crash or cravings.